Archive for October, 2012

Chicago, IL â€“Â Red de OraciÃ³n USA (Prayer Network USA-RDO), alongside Chicago land Pastors, Ministers and Christian Singers, will hold a Prayer Rally in front of the Federal Plaza, located atÂ 219 S Dearborn St., in Chicago,Â Â in consideration of the upcoming presidential elections. The rally will take place on Saturday, November 3, 2012, at 10Â a.m.Â Â

The focus and purpose of the event will be to pray and raise awareness among the Christian Community with regard to the following:

1.Â Â Â Â Â The need for a sound government that will honor the biblical principles on which this nation was established.

a.Â Â Â Â Â The integrity of family that includes a biblical definition of marriage and justice for immigrant families.Â Â

2.Â Â Â Â Â The importance for every citizen to vote.

Pastors and ministers in the Chicago land area, including Rev. EfraÃ­n Nava â€“UNICAP AsociaciÃ³n and Rev. Ernesto Betancourt â€“ Ministry Association of Chicago and Suburbs, emphasize the importance of praying for Godâ€™s guidance in the next United States presidential election.

CHICAGO, IL – In the wake of HurricaneÂ Sandy that hitÂ the northeasternÂ regions of the U.S., the Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and Northern Illinois (BBB) advises consumers do their research before making any donations to charities assisting those affected by the storm.

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“When we experience natural disasters, people are eager to help out in any way they can; unfortunately, some phony charities prey on situations like this,” said Steve J Bernas, President & CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and Northern Illinois. “That is why we urge every consumer to do their research before making any kind of charitable donations.”

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The BBB offers the following tips to help donors decide where to direct donations to assist hurricane victims:

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Be cautious when giving online. Be cautious, especially in response to unsolicited spam messages, and emails or social media posts that claim to link to a relief organization. If you want to give to a charity involved in relief efforts, go directly to the charity’s website. In response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the Asian tsunamis, the FBI and others raised concerns about websites and new organizations that were created overnight, allegedly to help victims.

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Rely on expert opinion when it comes to evaluating a charity. Be cautious when relying on third-party recommendations such as bloggers or other websites, as they may not have fully researched the relief organizations they list. Donors can go to www.bbb.org for free to research charities and relief organizations and verify that they are accredited by the BBB and meet the 20 Standards for Charity Accountability. Â

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Be wary of claims that 100 percent of donations will assist relief victims. Despite what an organization might claim, charities have fundraising and administrative costs. Even a credit card donation will involve, at a minimum, a processing fee. If a charity claims 100 percent of collected funds will be assisting hurricane victims, the truth is that the organization is still probably incurring fundraising and administrative expenses.Â It may use some of its other funds to pay these costs, but the expenses will still be incurred.Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

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Find out if the charity has an on-the-ground presence in the impacted areas. Unless the charity already has staff in the affected areas, it may be difficult to bring in new aid workers to provide assistance quickly.Â See if the charity’s website clearly describes what the charity can do to address immediate needs.

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Find out if the charity is providing direct aid or raising money for other groups. Some charities may be raising money to pass along to relief organizations.Â If so, you may want to consider “avoiding the middleman” and give directly to those that have a presence in the region, or at a minimum, check out the ultimate recipients of these donations to see whether they are equipped to provide aid effectively.

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Gifts of clothing, food or other in-kind donations. In-kind drives for food and clothing, while well intentioned, may not necessarily be the quickest way to help those in need – unless the organization has the staff and infrastructure to distribute such aid properly. Ask the charity about its transportation and distribution plans. Be wary of those who are not experienced in disaster relief assistance.

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Never feel forced to make a hasty decision or to choose an unknown charity. For more tips you can trust, visit www.bbb.org

A Relocation & Districting Rally, Â march and protest, will be held today at 12:00 Noon

Citizens for Moore will stand with the veterans

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As a result of redistricting of the city wards after the most recent aldermanic elections, the polling place for a South Side community has changed, making it inaccessible to a physically challenged community of veterans. The old polling place was located at the 6th District police station at 7808 S. Halsted St., and has since been moved to Oglesby School, 7641 S. Peoria Street, in the basement.

According to organizers, they discovered that the new location is not accessible for those persons who have to use walkers, crutches or wheelchairs. â€œAnd it is clear that those who spearheaded and who are responsible for redistricting the wards did not take in factors cited in Paragraph 1 into account before they put forth redistricting of the city wards to a vote.â€

St. Leo campus for veterans asks community residents to come out and voice concerns regarding this matter at a rally today,Wednesday, October 31, 2012, at 12:00 Noon in front of the St. Leo Residence, 7750 S. Emerald Ave.,

Organizers of the rally said they need the assistance and support of all residents of the community, ward veterans and non-veterans alike, who are negatively impacted by this change – directly or indirectly â€“ by this redistricting decision.

SPRINGFIELD, ILÂ â€“ The Illinois State Board of Education today reviewed statewide 2012 assessment data that show 713 or 82 percent of Illinois districts, and 2,545 or 66 percent of schools, failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under No Child Left Behind. The number of schools not making AYP grew over last year but only slightly as AYP benchmarks were frozen, allowing Illinois schools to meet last yearâ€™s performance expectations while the state â€“ like much of the country â€“ moves closer to a new accountability system that emphasizes student growth rather than performance at one point in time.

â€œWe are truly in a transition period in education as we move away from the punitive and one-size-fits-all nature of No Child Left Behind and into a system that will provide more comprehensive and useful information for parents, educators and students themselves about each childâ€™s progress over time,â€ said State Superintendent of Education Christopher A. Koch. â€œWe are hopeful that this is the last year we report on AYP results and can instead offer data that paints a fuller picture of each studentâ€™s and schoolâ€™s learning experience.â€

As evidence of the disconnect under NCLB, Superintendent Koch pointed out that only 11 high schools made AYP in 2012, though many more rank among the best high schools in the country. Schools can miss making AYP because of the performance of a sub-group, even when the school overall meets benchmarks and/or makes progress over last year.

The results were announced as part of the State Boardâ€™s statewide analysis of the 2012 State Report Card during their monthly meeting on Tuesday at Southland Charter School in Richton Park.

The statewide composite score for students meeting and exceeding standards on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) given to elementary students stayed nearly flat, going from 82.0 in 2011 to 82.1 in 2012.

The composite score for the Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE), given to 11th graders, increased from 50.5 in 2011 to 51.3 in 2012. New State rules, passed in 2011, better defined 11th graders who have been required since 2001 to take the PSAE, which includes the ACT. Those rules have led to an increase of more than 12,000 PSAE test takers in 2011 and 2012.

Students in third through eighth grades last March took the ISAT in reading and mathematics while fourth and seventh graders were also tested in science. Students in 11th grade last April took the PSAE, which tests students in math, reading and science. Only reading and mathematics results are used in calculating AYP.

Illinoisâ€™ NCLB waiver remains under review with the U.S. Department of Education. The federal education agency has indicated that the only barrier to approval of the Illinois waiver application remains the stateâ€™s disagreement regarding the timeline for when districts must use student growth in their new local teacher evaluation system. The U.S. Department of Education is calling for all districts to implement new evaluations in 2014-15, but Illinois law calls for a progressive phase in, with some districts beginning to use the new evaluation system as early as this year and all districts using it by 2016-17.

Superintendent Koch emphasized that the Board remains optimistic that the state will resolve this issue in time for next year. In the interim, the State Board requestedand receiveda freeze to the Annual Measurable Objectives at the 2010-11 school year levels. The AMO freeze means the calculations for Adequate Yearly Progress targets for 2011-12 are based on the previous yearâ€™s levels, without increasing. Therefore, schools were expected to show 85 percent of students meeting or exceeding standards in 2012, same as last year. Attendance rate targets for elementary and middle schools in 2012 remained the same as the previous year at 91 percent. Targets forgraduation rates also remained the same at 82 percent.

â€œIâ€™ve spoken with Secretary Duncan and Iâ€™m confident that our waiver application, which really represents Illinoisâ€™ roadmap for preparing students for success in college and careers, will be accepted next year and weâ€™ll be able to fully move forward with our reform agenda,â€ said State Board of Education Chairman Gery J. Chico. â€œIn the meantime, we are already implementing many elements of our plan to better gauge each studentâ€™s and schoolâ€™s performance.â€

Â Reform Agenda

Some of the reforms that will be implemented in the 2012-13 school year include:

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Continued implementation of the more rigorous Common Core Standards in English Language Arts and Math.

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ISBE will recommend schools administer the ACT-aligned exam â€œEXPLOREâ€ to 9th graders in public schools and the corresponding exam â€œPLANâ€ to 10th graders as part of a testing system that includes the ACT, already part of the Illinois Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE) in the 11th grade. EXPLORE and PLAN, produced by ACT, test students on English, Math, Reading and Science.

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Beginning inthe spring of2013, grade 11 students will take a third WorkKeys assessment that can help students earn a Career Readiness Certificate confirming employability skills.

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Illinois will raise performance levels for the 2013 administration of the ISAT to better gauge college and career-readiness and to better align with the PSAE.Â

A growth model based on valuetables will be developed to measure progress for grades 3 through 11.

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A survey of learning conditions will be administered to all K-12 teachers and 6-12 students in Spring 2013 with results reported on next yearâ€™s report card.

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The Center for School Improvement will provide coordination and coherence to school improvement services, specifically those targeting the lowest performing schools and those with the largest achievement gaps.

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â€œAs we take on some of these reforms, we know there will be growing pains,â€ said State Superintendent Koch. â€œWe expect ISAT scores will drop next year under the new performance levels. But, we owe it to our students to better align the ISAT with the rigor and college and career readiness benchmarks of the PSAE. Now, 82 percent of students in the state meet or exceed on the ISAT, compared to 51 percent on the PSAE. We must raise our expectations at the elementary level so that students are on track to leave high school prepared to succeed in the workforce, career and daily life.â€

Illinois is a member of the 23-state Partnership for Assessment for College and Careers (PARCC) that is developing a new generation of tests aligned to the new standards to better measure studentsâ€™ knowledge, skills and growth. The new state tests are expected to be available by the 2014-15 school year.Â

New Report Card

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Under legislation passed last year, ISBE, in collaboration with many education partners across the state, is developing a new `at-a-glanceâ€™ report card designed to be more readable and user-friendly. Set to debut in Fall 2013, Race to the Top funds are supporting the redesign that will featureÂ more academic information as well as feedback about learning conditions from a new survey of teachers and students.Â

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Illinois 5Essentials SurveyÂ

Between Feb. 1 and the end of March 2013, the survey of learning conditions will be administered to all K-12 teachers and students in grades 6 through 12Â in public schools. The survey, developed by the University of Chicago, is based on more than 20 years of research and aims to help identify strengths and weaknesses in five essential areas: instruction, environment, leaders, teachers and family involvement.

To be called â€œIllinois 5Essentials Survey,â€ a version of this survey has been used for more than a decade in Chicago Public Schools and more recently in other districts across the nation. The University of Chicago has found that schools strong on three or more of the five essentials are 10 times more likely to make substantial gains in math and reading. Districts can also give the survey to parents on a voluntary basis.

Student Demographics & PerformanceÂ Â Â Â

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Â·Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The number of districts declined from 891 in 2003 to 866 in 2012; there were 378 elementary districts, 100 high school districts, and 388 unit districts.

Â·Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â In 2011-12, the total enrollment in Illinois public schools was 2,066,692, down more than 8,000 (8,114) students from 2011.

Â·Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Since 1999, the percentage of low-income students has increased from 36.1 percent to 49 percent in 2012.

Â·Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Minority enrollment increased from 38 percent in 1999 to 49 percent. The increase is attributed to the growth of the Hispanic student population, which increased from 13.9 percent in 1999 to 23.6 percent of all students in 2012.

Â·Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The number of Limited-English proficient (LEP) students increased from 6.3 percent in 2003 to 9.4 percent in 2012. LEP students include those who are eligible for bilingual education.

Â·Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The composite score for all state tests increased slightly from 76.4 in 2010 to 76.7 in 2012.

Construction is underway at the Heritage Park Flood Control Facility in Wheeling, and last week, U.S. Senator Richard J. Durbin and Illinois State Representative Elaine Nekritz toured the area. Staff from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) were also present, along with representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers, Wheeling Park District, Village of Wheeling, Village of Mt. Prospect and City of Prospect Heights.

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Once complete, the complex will provide compensatory floodwater storage upstream of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineersâ€™ Levee 37 flood control structure in Mount Prospect and Prospect Heights along the Des Plaines River. Together with the Heritage Park Flood Control facility, the levee project will help alleviate flooding for approximately 600 homes and businesses.

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“It is gratifying to see this project underway,â€ said Rep. Nekritz. â€œThe flood protection for constituents along the Des Plaines River in Prospect Heights and Mount Prospect will not only save millions of dollars but will also provide peace of mind.”

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The complex includes six stormwater storage areas that will have a total capacity to store more than 49 million gallons of rain water. Additional improvements to the park include new walkways, a pavilion by the lake, a band shell, soccer fields and baseball diamonds.

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The MWRD Board of Commissioners and representatives from the Wheeling Park District and the Village of Wheeling signed an Intergovernmental Agreement in 2010 for the design, construction, and operation of the stormwater and related additional improvements to Heritage Park.Â The MWRD Commissioners retained AECOM Technical Services to design the project and awarded a contract to F.H. Paschen/Lake County Grading Joint Venture to construct the facility, which will be completed in under two years.

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â€œThe Heritage Park Flood Control Facility is a great example of how we can work together to provide stormwater management facilities along with public recreational amenities,â€ said MWRD Commissioner Debra Shore.

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â€œThe Heritage Park project represents a fine example of intergovernmental cooperation for the betterment of the region, and we salute MWRD and the Wheeling Park District for their vision and initiative,â€ said Wheeling Village President Judy Abruscato.

Joining the cause was Cook County Board President, Toni Preckwinkle as Honorary Chair. Last year, this benefit funded Scouting programs for over 800 at-risk and low-income youth served by the Chicago Area Council. The event was held on Thursday, October 25th at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, 151 E. Wacker Dr.

Scoutreach is designed to bring programs that instill positive values and productive learning opportunities for our youth. Supporting this event makes it possible for underprivileged youth to stay off the street with regular programing and receive camperships and go to Owasippe Scout Reservation, the oldest Boy Scout camp in the nation. Field personnel can be funded through this program to start new Troops in areas where a need exists, but volunteers do not. Through the Boy Scouts, young people have an opportunity to become involved in positive activities, build lasting relationships with mentors and improve self-esteem as they develop into our
future leaders.

Each year the Scoutreach Committee selects local leaders to be honored with a Service Award for the work they do in our community. The Service Award is named after Mr. Whitney M. Young, Jr. for his commitment to serving to improve the lives of African Americans across the country. Our local honorees have, in their own ways, lived up to the spirit of service by helping to prepare and inspire our children for life.

Whitney M. Young, Jr. was an educator and U.S. civil rights leader who spearheaded the drive for equal opportunity for African-Americans in industry and government during his 10 years as head of the National Urban League.

Boy Scouts of America, Chicago Area Council serves thousands of Â youth across the Chicagoland area and surrounding suburbs through traditional Scouting programs, Learning for Life and Exploring. The principle purpose of all Chicago Area Council programs are to instill positive values and prepare youth for life. To learn more, visit www.chicagobsa.org.

Officials conspired to wring false confession out of Juan Rivera, Jr. after days of abusive interrogation

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Chicago, IL â€“ A Lake County man wrongfully imprisoned for 20 years — half his life — following the 1992 rape and murder of an 11-year-old, filed suit today against current and former officers from Waukegan, Lake Forest, Buffalo Grove, and the Lake County Sheriffâ€™s Department for allegedly framing him for the crimes until DNA evidence exonerated him.

According to the suit, on the third straight day of abusive police interrogation, then-19-year-old Juan Rivera, Jr. suffered a mental breakdown, was diagnosed with “acute psychosis” by medical officials at the jail, and left hog-tied in a padded cell.Â On the fourth day, following over 24 hours of non-stop interrogation, Rivera signed a written confession to the crimes in English, even though he had great difficulty understanding spoken English, and almost no ability to read and write in the language.

As today’s suit notes, police knew that Rivera “suffered from intellectual deficits and that he had a history of pronounced emotional problems that would render him especially vulnerable to their coercive techniques.â€ At the time of the interrogation, Rivera’s I.Q. score placed him in the lowest 10 percent of the population. In addition, he had a well-documented history of psychological and emotional problems, including previous suicide attempts, and he had received psychiatric care and medications to manage those problems.

During the interrogation, police allowed Rivera to sleep only four hours over four days, and then fed him details of the crime so that his false confession would appear legitimate.Â They not only had no physical evidence tying Rivera to the crime, they knew that he had been on a home-monitoring device as a result of a previous property crime, and thus was nowhere near the scene of the murder.

Rivera’s suit contends that the interrogation exceeded all reasonable limits for police questioning and was completely out of bounds.Â According to the lawyers, the duration of Plaintiffâ€™s interrogation exceeded the length of almost all other interrogations in the United States that have been deemed impermissibly long, unconstitutionally coercive, and that have resulted in known false and demonstrably unreliable confessions.

DNA evidence would later show that Rivera was not the person who raped Staker, but as a recent New York Times profile recounted, Lake County prosecutors obstinately concocted a theory that the 11-year-old was sexually active with multiple partners, and hence had semen that didn’t match Rivera’s DNA.

On January 6, 2012, after a long legal battle led by Northwestern University School of Law’s Center on Wrongful Convictions, Juan Rivera, Jr. walked out of prison a free man, having served half of his life in prison for a crime he did not commit.

Rivera, and his attorneys, Locke Bowman of the Roderick MacArthur Justice Center and Jon Loevy of Loevy and Loevy Attorneys at Law, will discuss the new suit at an 11 AM, Tuesday, October 30 press conference at Northwestern University’s School of Law, 375 E. Chicago Avenue, 8th floor, Chicago.

CHICAGO, IL â€“ Youth from the Audy Home Campaign, alongside parents, ministers and allied groups, will demand at Tuesdayâ€™s Cook County Review of the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC) that the County allocate funds away from the JTDC and toward high-quality community-based education and social services, including athletics and arts programs, as well as mental health care and safe shelter.

The Audy Home Campaign is a growing coalition of community organizations concerned about the direction of the juvenile justice system in Cook County which includes Blocks Together, BUILD Inc, Center of Change, Community Justice Institute for Youth, Fearless Leading by the Youth, Precious Blood Ministry of Peace and Reconciliation and the Institute on Public Safety and Social Justice at the Adler School of Psychology.

At the hearing, youth will wear Halloween costumesâ€”suits and ties, on the one hand, and orange prison uniforms on the otherâ€”to highlight the choices the Cook County Commissioners are making about the future of Chicago youth in their budget decisions this week.

“The County is investing over 40 million a year to detain young people. That’s a bad investment and a bad budget decision,” said Darrius Lightfoot of the Audy Home Campaign and the Juvenile Advisory Council. “Instead, they should be spending taxpayer dollars to keep youth out of prison and engaged in their communities.”

In the past year, the County reduced the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center population by 50. In the coming year, President Toni Preckwinkle has said that the population will shrink even more. The Audy Home Campaign is demanding that the reduction of the population include reinvestment of funds into community-based alternatives.

â€œYouth need mentorship and job training, not to be locked up,â€ said Darrius Lightfoot. â€œCommunity alternatives to detention could be the key to reducing youth violence and youth crime–but it requires investing in our youthâ€

Youth â€œtrick or treatâ€ County Commissioners will demand reinvestment in alternatives to detention, followed by a Press conference at 8:45 a.m., at the Cook County Building, 118 N. Clark St., 5th Floor.

Formerly detained youth, parents, ministers and allies from the Audy Home Campaign, a coalition of community organizations including: Blocks Together, BUILD Inc, Center of Change, Community Justice Institute for Youth, Fearless Leading by the Youth, Precious Blood Ministry of Peace and Reconciliation and the Institute on Public Safety and Social Justice at the Adler School of Psychology.

Youth were dressed in prison jumpsuits and suits and ties in a trick or treat before Cook County Commissioners at the County budget hearing.

During a monthly meeting co-sponsored by the Lake Michigan States Section of the Air and Waste Management Association and the Union League Club’s Environment and Public Affairs Committees, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) Executive Director David St. Pierre offered a glimpse into the future of the wastewater treatment agency.

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â€œI recently returned from nationwide conferences in Washington, DC and New Orleans, LA, where I had the opportunity to share our work with hundreds of local, state, federal and private organizations,â€ said St. Pierre. â€œEverywhere I went, reactions have been extremely positive. Whether the MWRD is addressing municipal stormwater management needs and growing our use of green infrastructure or improving our wastewater treatment processes to minimize our environmental impact, the work we are doing is cutting edge.â€

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Already in progress is the engineering design of the disinfection technologies selected for implementation next year at the Calumet and North Side treatment facilities. Continuing to find additional uses for fertile biosolids, the end-product of wastewater treatment, is also underway.

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There are other emerging opportunities for environmental protection and cost savings on the horizon as well. A new frontier pertains to the wastewater treatment digestion process in which methane and carbon dioxide, called “biogas,â€ is produced. Biogas has numerous sustainable uses such as producing electricity or vehicle fuel. While few organizations have yet to embrace the use of biogas, the MWRD is exploring the possibility of adding food wastes and restaurant grease into its digesters to increase its production. This gas will be converted to energy as a clean energy alternative.

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The recovery of phosphorus and nitrogen from the wastewater treatment process is another planned state of the art process. In excessive amounts, these nutrients negatively impact water quality, but if they are removed from the water stream, they can be returned to the soil as fertilizers for agriculture production.

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â€œThe processes and practices that the MWRD is currently investigating are exciting advances in the realm of wastewater utilities,â€ said St. Pierre. â€œThe MWRD has always been working to improve the quality of life for Cook County residents, but we are bringing those efforts into the forefront and sharing our vision and our success so that we may continue to lead the utility sector into the future.â€

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“We were particularly pleased to hear the innovative solutions the MWRD is exploring to our many environmental challenges,â€ said meeting chairman James Harrington. â€œMany of those in the audience are looking forward to working with the District on developing and implementing these approaches.â€

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The Lake Michigan States Section of the Air and Waste Management Association (A&WMA-LMSS) is a unit of the Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA). The Section covers Illinois, Northwest Indiana, Wisconsin, and Western Michigan with chapters of the association represented throughout the region. The purpose of the A&WMA-LMSS is to promote a better understanding and awareness of the challenges that exist in air pollution control, waste management, processing and control, and environmental management programs among representatives of industry, government agencies, research personnel, educators, attorneys and consultants within the geographic area of the Section.

Cook County Democratic Women say it is proud to announce their endorsement of the Republican candidate for Illinois Supreme court, Judge Jim Riley.

Although Cook County Democratic Women is a democratic organization, we are an independent organization.Â

When at all possible we support democratic candidates. But when it is clear that the democratic candidate is not acting in the best interest of our community, we support the candidate who will, and in this case we feel that candidate is Judge Jim Riley.

Judge Riley is a frequent lecturer on probate related topics for the Chicago Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association and various Suburban Bar Associations.

Prior to his election as a Circuit Court Judge He was President of the Southwest Bar Association, President of the Coalition of the Suburban Bar Associations, a two term member of the Illinois State Bar Association Assembly and elected as a Trustee of Palos Township.

Judge Jim Riley believes in the foundation of our forefathers. Three branches of government to make sure that there will always be checks and balances. In Chicago these balances do not occur, because of a democratic control Mayor.

We have a rubber stamp council who does what the Mayor wants. Our only hope is the court system to seek and find justice.

The Mayorâ€™s Candidate has bragged about being his swing vote. This would be a travesty for the people of Chicago and Illinois and the misrepresentation of the symbolism of Lady Justice.

Lady Justice is an allegory of personification dealing with the moral force in the judicial system. When we see the depiction of Lady Justice her scales represents the balancing scale of truth and fairness. We believe Judge James Riley would be truthful and fair to all residents of Illinois. He represents objectivity that justice should be measured out or meted objectively without favor, fear, money, power, or weakness. The Supreme Court Judge seat holds the power of decision making, which should be impartial and justice that is blind to race, creed or social status… Judge James Riley is the candidate who is capable of such a position in the Illinois Supreme Court.

Judge Riley was first elected to the bench in 1996. Judge Riley is refreshingly outspoken and a well-regarded judge.Â He gives voters a chance to make a choice, something that they have not been able to do for many years.

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Welcome to CopyLine Magazine! The first issue of CopyLine Magazine was published in November, 1990, by Editor & Publisher Juanita Bratcher. CopyLine’s main focus is on the political arena – to inform our readers and analyze many of the pressing issues of the day - controversial or otherwise. Our objectives are clear – to keep you abreast of political happenings and maneuvering in the political arena, by reporting and providing provocative commentaries on various issues. For more about CopyLine Magazine, CopyLine Blog, and CopyLine Television/Video, please visit juanitabratcher.com, copylinemagazine.com, and oneononetelevision.com. Bratcher has been a News/Reporter, Author, Publisher, and Journalist for 33 years. She is the author of six books, including “Harold: The Making of a Big City Mayor” (Harold Washington), Chicago’s first African-American mayor; and “Beyond the Boardroom: Empowering a New Generation of Leaders,” about John Herman Stroger, Jr., the first African-American elected President of the Cook County Board. Bratcher is also a Poet/Songwriter, with 17 records – produced by HillTop Records of Hollywood, California. Juanita Bratcher Publisher